Many places on Phu Quoc Island are flooded at unprecedented depths.
Heavy rain for 3 consecutive days has caused many localities on Phu Quoc Island (Kien Giang) to be flooded more than a meter deep, forcing hundreds of households to evacuate.
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People wade through water on Tran Phu Street, Phu Quoc. Photo:Riko. |
On August 5, many roads in Duong Dong town and the communes of Cua Duong, Cua Can, Duong To... were still deeply flooded, causing business to stagnate and traffic to be severely disrupted. On Cach Mang Thang Tam, Tran Phu, Mac Cuu, Nguyen Trung Truc streets... people and tourists used boats and buoys to get around.
"In my entire life here, I have never seen such a big flood. The rain was continuous and heavy, the water could not recede fast enough, the streets became rivers and houses were flooded with up to a meter of water. My family and I had to run to our relatives' houses on higher ground to take refuge," said Mr. Nguyen Van Van (75 years old, living on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Duong Dong town).
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Many roads are deeply flooded, people use boats to travel. Photo:Riko. |
On the same evening, Mr. Huynh Quang Hung - Vice Chairman of Phu Quoc District People's Committee said that about 500 households were affected by flooding. Local authorities are mobilizing more than 1,000 people from military, border, police forces... to evacuate households to schools, government agencies, relatives' houses...
"Local elders confirmed that this is the most historic flood ever on Phu Quoc Island. Fortunately, there are no casualties, but there is huge property damage," said Mr. Hung.
Regarding the cause, the Vice Chairman of Phu Quoc District People's Committee said that it was partly due to people illegally encroaching and filling in rivers and canals in the area. Continuous heavy rain for 3 days (over 200 mm) caused the drainage system to overload. In addition, the rising tide has made the flooding situation more severe.
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People herd cows home on flooded Tran Phu street. Photo:Riko. |
Mr. Hung added that the rain has stopped and the water is receding, but to guard against bad situations, the locality still has forces on duty 24/7 at key locations.
Phu Quoc is the largest island district in Vietnam, with a total area of 589.23 km2; currently has about 145,000 people living there. This place is known as "Pearl Island", one of the world's famous tourist destinations, and is being strongly invested in development.
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